How do British people celebrate 18 birthday?

Life is step by step, attending classes every day and going to nursing homes. If there is anything worth mentioning, it is that our Bible reading group with less than ten people has had two birthdays in a row these days. As a member, I was naturally invited to two birthday parties and experienced how real English people celebrate their birthdays.

A few days before Jakey's birthday, she called me and said that it was just "a cup of tea and a snack" and had arranged for someone to pick me up. I was in class at that time, knowing the culture of "drinking tea" in Britain, so I didn't ask much. That night, I was surprised that it was the female pastor and his wife who came to pick me up. Later, I learned that it was for Jakey's birthday party, not just "drinking tea". Luckily, I'm dressed neatly. I never wear makeup, but I don't prepare birthday cards or gifts.

Xiong Rui, 62, and her husband are both middle school teachers and have an excellent daughter. She graduated from Harvard University. On that day, in addition to her daughter's family of four, several of her colleagues were invited, all one-on-one, and more than 20 people from our Bible study group attended. Everyone wears "formal clothes", men wear suits and ties, and women wear dark evening dresses and deliberately make up. Before entering the door, everyone gave Jakey a hug and kiss, wished her "Happy Birthday" and sent birthday gifts, such as cards or flowers.

There is light music in the living room, and the table is filled with all kinds of snacks and alcoholic drinks. If you want to eat or drink, you can help yourself. No one really "drinks tea", and they don't sit around the table like China people, waiting for their host to entertain them. Instead, they all walked around with glasses and chatted in twos and threes. Near midnight, several couples left, and the rest were divided into men's teams and women's teams for a knowledge contest. British TV programs often engage in such competitions, which are very informative and interesting. There are professional books for reference, and the standard answers are at the back of the book. For example, name the top ten rivers or famous mountains in the world, the names of actors or stars, the names of movies or books, political titles or military titles, etc. Obviously, our women's team didn't have enough sports knowledge and lost. The men's team lost in the field of movies and actors. Everyone laughed louder and louder, and finally they really got tired of playing and left together. It was already one o'clock in the morning when I was sent home.

Before Jane's birthday, she invited me to her house for tea, and she came to pick me up. As a warning, I asked her if she had a birthday, but she didn't answer directly. She just said "not to celebrate my birthday, but to thank those who helped me" (not to celebrate my birthday, but to thank those who helped me), which was equivalent to tacitly acknowledging that it was her birthday. Do as Romans do in Rome. I bought her a birthday card and a decorative necklace. I dressed up and was taken to her house.

As the president of the Women's Federation, Jane is also one of the richest women in Fiona Fang. That day, she wore a black dress with necklace ornaments and exquisite high heels, which looked particularly young and noble, unlike people in their early sixties at all. Although she repeatedly stressed that there were very few people invited, "only family and a few close friends", hundreds of people attended the party except her two sons, and everyone took his wife and children. I only know a few people in the Bible reading group and the church, and most of them have never met them.

As mentioned before, her home is very big, with 100 square meters in the kitchen alone, and the garden is endless. I went to her house for tea several times, all in the main living room and garden on the first floor. There are many rooms on the third floor, and only on the first floor. This is the first time to see her other living room and study. The party is only on the first floor. The long table in the kitchen is filled with all kinds of drinks, and the long table in the deputy living room is filled with snacks, all of which are ordered from M&S, made on the same day and delivered to the door, including sandwiches, kebabs, sashimi sushi, various cakes and various fruit skewers. No one cooks, and the host just stands at the door to meet the guests or chat with them, which is very leisurely.

Everyone walked back and forth with glasses, greeting each other and chatting. In the middle, Jane's seven-year-old grandson brought a small cake with some candles lit on it. Before blowing out the candles, Jane made a simple speech and thanked everyone for coming. She said that since her husband died, she was lucky to have these relatives and friends by her side ...!

At about eleven o'clock, Mr. and Mrs. Robert were leaving, so I drove away in their car. Afterwards, I heard that everyone left after midnight.

Very inspired. I think if there is a big house, people in China should learn this hospitality, so as to avoid people being busy in the kitchen, and the host and guests can't chat harmoniously. Going to the hotel to celebrate, although it saves the pain of cooking, is better than relaxing at home.